OMB tells agencies to prepare shutdown plans

Sep. 18, 2013 - 06:00AM
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OMB Director Sylvia Burwell said agencies should plan for the possibility of a government shutdown. (Architect of the Capitol)

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Agencies should plan for the possibility of a government shutdown, according to Sylvia Burwell, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, in a memo released Tuesday.

The current continuing resolution that authorizes agency spending expires at the end of September and Congress has failed to pass any spending legislation for the new fiscal year.

Burwell said the administration is working to make sure the government is funded and is willing to enact short-term legislation to allow Congress time to pass legislation for all of fiscal 2014.

“However, prudent management requires that agencies be prepared for the possibility of a lapse,” Burwell said.

She said that agency leaders should make sure that only “excepted” functions would continue to be performed in the event of a shutdown and agencies should review which employees would continue to work during a shutdown.

“Agencies should continue the process of updating their plans until further guidance is provided,” Burwell said.